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Managing Risk.

Spotting Opportunity.

About Us

The Rochdale Paragon Group, LLC, was formed in 2016 through a merger between The Rochdale Group and The Paragon Group. Rochdale, founded in 2006, has been a leader in enterprise risk management, strategic planning, governance, lending support, and other consulting services for financial institutions. Paragon, founded in 1990, has been a leader in vendor management, enterprise risk management, compliance audits, strategic services and governance assessments for financial institutions. The combination offers clients a total eGRC solution, with a broader range of advice, analytics and solutions specifically designed to meet the risk management, strategy and assurance needs of the financial industry.

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Rochdale Paragon Group understands the challenges financial institutions face – the responsibilities and pressures they have and the vast amount of information through which they must navigate. To that end, the combined firm has created a unique partnership which offers seamless professional services assistance and corresponding software solutions. The software, apogee iQ, is managed by a software company by the same name, jointly owned by Rochdale Paragon Group and UpStreme, Inc. apogee iQ builds on the success of these partners but has re-invented how services and systems are offered. Like the financial institutions it serves, the organization is focused on one thing – meeting the needs of tomorrow, today.

Lending Support

Risk-Based Lending

MBL Review

Indirect Lending

Participation Assistance

Allowance for Loan & Lease Losses/CECL

Concentration Risk

Today’s marketplace requires increasingly sophisticated lending techniques and competencies. Rochdale Paragon Group offers a set of comprehensive programs to assist you with strategy, program design, process and policy creation, compliance and staff training around lending and risk management programs. Maximizing your lending strategy and performance is at the heart of your institution’s success.

Merger Support

Integration begins well before “the deal is done” and extends well past system integration. Rochdale Paragon Group’s Merger Program provides financial institution leadership with a real and executable solution. Our customized approach provides a defined and comprehensive program for the merger process, resulting in a smooth transition while leveraging scale opportunities.

MANAGEMENT

Enterprise Risk Management

You’re responsible for achieving your organization’s goals in a safe and sound manner, consistent with the culture and values of the institution. The difference between success and failure is management’s collective ability to access critical information in a timely manner to make decisions that have a positive risk/return profile. Providing the intelligence to drive performance and organizational alignment is the fundamental concept on which real ERM programs are built. From process risk assessment, to helping you establish an internal ERM program, to a full implementation or even ongoing support of your program, Rochdale Paragon Group has the experience and expertise to meet your needs.

Vendor Management

To comply with increasingly burdensome regulatory requirements for evaluating third party relationship risks, financial institutions must take a proactive role in managing alliances with key vendors. But a sound vendor management program goes beyond mere regulatory compliance. In an environment in which institutions are increasing reliance on strategic outsourcing, robust knowledge of key vendors can help protect financial institutions and their customers. Whether you seek a comprehensive solution including software and guaranteed-compliant contract review, or a more streamlined due diligence review, Rochdale Paragon Group has the tools to take your vendor management program beyond a mere compliance task.

Risk Appetite

You go to great lengths to measure and manage risk in your institution – but how do you know whether you’re taking too much risk, or not enough? By assessing your organization’s risk appetite, senior management and the board “place the curbs on the track,” allowing management and the rest of your team to run the race. Rochdale Paragon Group’s risk appetite assessment process will ensure organizational alignment through full knowledge of where those curbs are, while identifying gaps between today’s risk posture and the organization’s risk appetite – gaps that can reveal significant strategic opportunities.

CONSULTING

Strategic Planning

The pace of change in technology, regulations, consumer preferences and disruptor emergence is accelerating. To remain relevant, you need to approach strategic planning in a manner that produces new insights, goes beyond mere validation of the status quo, and most importantly, results in a plan that can be implemented, and will take you where you want to go. Rochdale Paragon Group’s risk-centric planning process combines the fundamental elements of strategic planning and enterprise risk management to reinvent your planning process by forcing a systematic consideration of the full range of risk factors and potential strategy outcomes your institution faces.

Governance

One of the most significant risks identified by many financial institutions is the inability to attract top talent to the Board of Directors and Supervisory Committee. A high-performing Board/Supervisory Committee regularly reviews its performance and takes steps to keep essential traditions alive, while making the necessary changes to remain relevant. Rochdale Paragon Group’s evaluation tools assess competencies and gaps, as well as performance (personal, peer and of the Board/Supervisory Committee as a whole). This information is assembled into actionable reports that can improve the quality of governance for your institution, ensuring its ongoing competitiveness.

Succession Planning

How do you ensure future relevance if you don’t know who will be leading your institution? Succession planning is a vital part of providing for your institution’s ongoing growth and competitiveness. A well-conceived process can relieve much of the anxiety and stress in the event of unforeseen changes in leadership, while ensuring a smooth transition as leaders retire or advance. Rochdale Paragon Group can assist with developing a sound succession plan, as well as identifying core competencies and risk appetite alignment of future leaders.

General Consulting Services

Rochdale Paragon Group’s seasoned team of professionals has decades of experience in all facets of financial institution operations, from the line management level all the way to the corner office. We also bring industry-leading best practices intelligence from the scores of institutions we work with. Whatever challenge you face, we can help you find the solution that’s right for your organization.

Software

The right tool for the job is critical. Whether the job is Enterprise Risk Management, Vendor Management, Business Continuity Planning or Cybersecurity Assurance, apogee iQ is the right tool, providing a solution that integrates these critical GRC functions into one user-friendly platform. For more information, please click on this link:

Education

Volunteer Leadership Institute

For more information or to register for our upcoming Volunteer Leadership Institute in Hawaii, click here.

CUNA ERM Certification School

Rochdale Paragon Group, in partnership with CUNA, has offered the Enterprise Risk Management Certification School since 2012, with approximately 500 professionals having completed the school and earned the Credit Union Risk Management Expert (CUERME) designation. For more information on the school, and to register, please click on the link below:

CUNA GRC Leadership Institute

Rochdale Paragon Group, in partnership with CUNA, is introducing the GRC Leadership Institute. This school will serve to educate senior leadership, audit officers, compliance officers, board members and supervisory committee members on the practice of GRC and the impact it can have on an organization. This intensive 3-day school will be led by industry experts and will educate attendees through presentation, case studies, interactive learning and specialized sessions based on functions within the business. At the conclusion of the school attendees will have a working knowledge of GRC and the necessity of the practice. They will be equipped to present information regarding GRC and the impact it can have to the leaders in their organization. For more information, and to register, please click on the link below:

Speaking

Need a speaker for your conference? Rochdale Paragon Group’s experienced professionals have delivered hundreds of presentations to local, regional and national audiences, on a variety of topics. Our speakers receive consistently high ratings, and seek to inform, educate and entertain.

Our Partners and Affiliations

Contact Us

For more information about our services, please use the contact form below and we will return your message within 2 business days.